The stunning dancing glow of the Northern Lights and their Southern Hemisphere counterpart, the Aurora Australis, will dazzle those lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the greatest light show on earth.
Usually confined to the Arctic and Antarctic, the Northern and Southern Lights have inspired awe and wonder for centuries.
In recent months, photographers and night sky watchers have captured the colorful spectacle farther south (or north if you're in the southern hemisphere) than usual, in places like Colorado, southeast England and New Wales. Pilots circled their planes mid-flight so their passengers could get a closer look at the phenomenon.
A new weekend solar event triggered colorful auroras on Sunday evening and Monday morning, with more expected on Monday evening, according to EarthSky.
Auroras can be seen as far away as Alabama and northern California, according to NOAA Aurora Forecasts. Check to see if your state is one of many in the viewing area and offers the best opportunities to see the Northern Lights.
What causes auroras?
Auroras are caused by activity from the sun, specifically a type of solar storm called a coronal mass ejection, which ejects electrified gas and particles into space. When these electrified particles reach the magnetic field lines at the North and South Poles, which usually takes about three days, they enter the Earth's atmosphere.
There, particles and energy interact with gases in the atmosphere, creating different colored lights in the sky. Oxygen emits green light, the most common color, as well as red light, according to Aurora Watch from Lancaster University in the UK. According to NASA, nitrogen glows blue and purple. Clear weather can also help make the Northern Lights more visible.
A severe geomagnetic storm was created by a coronal mass ejection on April 21, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center is monitoring the event.
Plasma expelled from the sun traveled towards Earth at nearly 2 million miles per hour at 3:26 p.m. Eastern time on April 23.
Earlier, researchers at NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory said they spotted two M-class solar flares in March that triggered coronal mass ejections (CMEs), sparked increased geomagnetic activity and produced intriguing auroras. The smallest solar flares are classified as class A, according to NASA, followed by B, C, M and X, the largest.
Sometimes CMEs can also interfere with satellite operations and ground communications.
The recent increase in geomagnetic activity in March was caused by a "large and magnetically complex" sunspot region called AR3234, according to the UK Met Office.
How frequent are auroras?
In coming years, the northern lights could appear further south with more regularity, said Robert Massey, executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The Sun goes through an 11-year solar cycle during which the level of eruptive activity fluctuates. Cycle 25, the last one, began in December 2019 with solar minimum, a time when the sun is still active but calmer and has fewer sunspots.
We are now approaching a solar maximum that is expected to occur in July 2025, which will be a time when there will be a large number of sunspots and increased solar activity.
Massey said solar events that cause auroras become more frequent as we approach solar maximum.
This month's event is the third major geomagnetic storm since the start of the new solar cycle in 2019, following events in November 2021 and March 2023.
This increased solar activity is consistent with the current state and timing of the solar cycle," NOAA space scientist Rob Steenburgh said in a statement. "Energetic events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections are have become more frequent over the past year and especially the past month, and we expect activity to continue to increase to its peak next year.
Read Also : What It Would Take to Bring the ISS Back to Earth in One Piece?
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The stunning dancing glow of the Northern Lights and their Southern Hemisphere counterpart, the Aurora Australis, will dazzle those lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the greatest light show on earth.
Usually confined to the Arctic and Antarctic, the Northern and Southern Lights have inspired awe and wonder for centuries.
In recent months, photographers and night sky watchers have captured the colorful spectacle farther south (or north if you're in the southern hemisphere) than usual, in places like Colorado, southeast England and New Wales. Pilots circled their planes mid-flight so their passengers could get a closer look at the phenomenon.
A new weekend solar event triggered colorful auroras on Sunday evening and Monday morning, with more expected on Monday evening, according to EarthSky.
Auroras can be seen as far away as Alabama and northern California, according to NOAA Aurora Forecasts. Check to see if your state is one of many in the viewing area and offers the best opportunities to see the Northern Lights.
What causes auroras?
Auroras are caused by activity from the sun, specifically a type of solar storm called a coronal mass ejection, which ejects electrified gas and particles into space. When these electrified particles reach the magnetic field lines at the North and South Poles, which usually takes about three days, they enter the Earth's atmosphere.
There, particles and energy interact with gases in the atmosphere, creating different colored lights in the sky. Oxygen emits green light, the most common color, as well as red light, according to Aurora Watch from Lancaster University in the UK. According to NASA, nitrogen glows blue and purple. Clear weather can also help make the Northern Lights more visible.
A severe geomagnetic storm was created by a coronal mass ejection on April 21, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center is monitoring the event.
Plasma expelled from the sun traveled towards Earth at nearly 2 million miles per hour at 3:26 p.m. Eastern time on April 23.
Earlier, researchers at NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory said they spotted two M-class solar flares in March that triggered coronal mass ejections (CMEs), sparked increased geomagnetic activity and produced intriguing auroras. The smallest solar flares are classified as class A, according to NASA, followed by B, C, M and X, the largest.
Sometimes CMEs can also interfere with satellite operations and ground communications.
The recent increase in geomagnetic activity in March was caused by a "large and magnetically complex" sunspot region called AR3234, according to the UK Met Office.
How frequent are auroras?
In coming years, the northern lights could appear further south with more regularity, said Robert Massey, executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Read Also : What It Would Take to Bring the ISS Back to Earth in One Piece?The Sun goes through an 11-year solar cycle during which the level of eruptive activity fluctuates. Cycle 25, the last one, began in December 2019 with solar minimum, a time when the sun is still active but calmer and has fewer sunspots.
We are now approaching a solar maximum that is expected to occur in July 2025, which will be a time when there will be a large number of sunspots and increased solar activity.
Massey said solar events that cause auroras become more frequent as we approach solar maximum.
This month's event is the third major geomagnetic storm since the start of the new solar cycle in 2019, following events in November 2021 and March 2023.
This increased solar activity is consistent with the current state and timing of the solar cycle," NOAA space scientist Rob Steenburgh said in a statement. "Energetic events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections are have become more frequent over the past year and especially the past month, and we expect activity to continue to increase to its peak next year.